With the ability to copy an image off the web as easily as right-click and save, a simple and quick way to protect your images is visible watermark. When it comes to watermarks, however, you either love or hate them. They tend to look ugly and can ruin an image, but they’re a necessary evil if you want to protect your photos from being used by someone else. It’s a controversial subject — we don’t really like them — but there are plenty of people who take no issue with using the simple identifiers.
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Watermarks don’t have to look awful, however, assuming you go about implementing them in a subtle manner. Placing a watermark can be a simple or elaborate process, depending on how involved and fancy you want to get. You could use a photo editor and slap some text over it, for example, or overlay a faded icon atop the image in question. Whatever your fancy, here are a few basic ways to add a simple watermark to your photos.
The fast and easy way
The easiest way to add some form of copyright to your image is to use the text tool in any photo-editing program (heck, even Paint will do the job) and tag your name on it. You can do it discreetly by writing it in a corner, in small font size, or plastering it over the entire photo. Draw a box around it, color it, use a funky font — it’s entirely up to you. This method might not be attractive, but it’s the fastest and easiest way to add a watermark. For a cleaner approach, read on.
You can overlay some text over an image to create a watermark using Microsoft Paint, but we didn’t say it’d be pretty.
Using online tools
Another easy way to watermark a photo is to use an online tool like PicMarkr. Upload up to five photos, or pull them from Flickr or Facebook, and then pick from three watermarking options (text, image, or tiled). Whereas a text watermark is similar to the one previously outlined, an image watermark places another image on top of the original (you’ll need to resize the secondary image beforehand). The issue with using PicMarkr to create an image watermark is that it doesn’t let you choose the opacity of the secondary image, so you can’t blend with the original photo. The third option, a tiled watermark, simply layers a text or image all over the picture.
As for online watermarking tools, Watermark.ws offers a lot of options and flexibility.
This method is fast and easy, but it’s not pretty. Another online watermarking tool, PicMark, takes a cleaner approach by creating a watermark frame around an image. Sadly, while the modern approach looks nice, some can still easily copy your image and crop it out of the frame. And, you can’t choose the size of the watermarked image. Watermark.ws, on the other hand, offers the most flexibility in that it lets you drag a text or image watermark anywhere on the photo. The software also lets you adjust the font, color, and image opacity. Of the three mentioned, Watermark.ws gives you the most professional-looking watermark.
Watermarkphotos.net is yet another option for watermarking your photos from directly within your browser. What sets this site apart is that all of the work is done locally, meaning none of your content is transferred to their servers to be watermarked, which adds an extra layer of privacy.
Going with desktop software
There is watermarking software you can download, which essentially does the same things as the aforementioned online tools. However, because you don’t need an internet connection, you’ll find the process faster and you keep your photos on your local drive. There’s plenty of premium and freemium software on the market that does the same thing, though, each comes with a different set of extras. Check out Alamoon Watermark, which also lets you crop and resize a photo, tweak the image quality, and use a variety of image formats. Alternatives include TSR Watermark and uMark, the latter of which is a premium app that lets you apply graphics and perform batch watermarking. Thankfully, uMark also has a free version with limited functionality.
uMark is a useful downloadable watermark creation software, but you’ll have to pay for extra features (image via uMark).
Before you download new software, however, you may already have something installed on your computer that can create watermarks. IrfanView, a popular image viewer for Windows, has a built-in watermarking feature. Photoshop Elements offers an easy way to create watermarks, too. Regardless, quickly check the image-editing software you’re currently using to see if a watermarking feature is available.
Using a photo editor
If your photo-editing software doesn’t offer a watermarking feature, you don’t want to download new software, or the online tools are too barebones or inflexible for your creative needs, you can always make your own using an image-editing software such as Photoshop, Gimp, or Pixelmator. How fancy your watermark looks will depend on your is comfort level as a graphic designer, but, for most people, here’s the most basic way to get started.
Using Pixelmator to create watermarks.
As we’ve already mentioned, you can simply overlay some text on top of an image with your copyright info, and decrease the opacity of the text between 40 and 60 percent. The watermark should be viewable, yes, but it shouldn’t overwhelm the image (lower the opacity even further if you want it to look nearly invisible). The opacity can be adjusted in the Layers section of Photoshop, but may be found elsewhere in other programs.
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The position, size, and color of the text is up to you. If you have pre-made logo — for your business, for example — you can also do the same thing here as you would with text. Simply import or paste the image, and adjust the opacity. You can always experiment with other design features and carry out more complex actions, however, we don’t think you need to complicate things. If you use a program like Photoshop that lets you record an action, we suggest using it as you’re creating your watermark, so you can automate the process for batch images.
Opting for mobile apps
When you’re on the go and want to safely share your photo on the web, your best bet is to add watermarks using a smartphone or tablet app. Luckily, there’s no shortage of apps to work with, whether you’re an Android or iOS user.
One of the most versatile mobile watermarking solutions is an app called iWatermark. Available for both Android and iOS, the app lets you choose any photo from your library and add a watermark with just a few taps. You can go with something as simple as your name and the copyright logo, or overlay a custom logo of your own creation. The iWatermark app isn’t the most intuitive, but it gets the job done and offers batch options for those times when you need to watermark a dozen photos at once.
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If you’re already invested in Adobe’s Creative Cloud platform, one of the best options for watermarking on a mobile device is to use one of Adobe’s mobile apps. Adobe Photoshop Mix (Android, iOS) provides a simple solution, as the app allows you to add multiple layers to an image and tweak each one independently. But, if you’re looking for something with a little more flair, you could use Adobe’s Spark Post app, which allows you to animate your logo. The only problem with Spark Post is that it’s currently limited to iOS Devices.
Adobe Spark is made more for text overlays and clever quotes, but it can also serve as a great watermarking tool.
While we’re on iOS-specific solutions, one of the most intriguing options available is a productivity app called Workflow. Designed for only the most dedicated of power users, Workflow is an app that helps you automate an incredible amount of functions across the entire iOS ecosystem. In a recent update, the Workflow team even added the ability to automatically watermark photos from directly within the app.
This might not be the best solution if you’re only wanting to watermark one or two photos, but if you’re dealing with an entire album, you could create (or download) a workflow that automatically watermarks an entire collection of photos. What sets this app apart from others is that you can further automate the process so that all photos are automatically uploaded to Flickr, Dropbox, Facebook, or a slew of other social networks. This cuts yet another step from the post-production process.
